This Halloween, kids everywhere will be out trick or treating for candy. And while some might worry about the loot rotting our teeth, there’s another more potent risk. Traces of the powerful neurotoxin, lead, can be found in some candy. This isn’t a new concern. For more than a decade, we’ve known about harmful amounts of the metal showing up in chili-flavored sweets imported from Mexico. That problem was addressed, but the California Department of Public Health has found lead in some candies made and distributed in the US.

What do Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and even Bill Nye the Science Guy all have in common? They are white guys. STEM fields are infamous for lacking females and people of color participants, but maybe not for long.

The Life Is Living festival is an event that happens once a year in Oakland. It promotes science, which is the root of the event, but it’s also learning, having fun and connecting with the community. I went to the event last saturday with my two sisters. My goal was to visit the STEM mini Maker Faire, and check out the other booths and their interactive experiments .

Given evidence that many girls and boys are physically maturing faster than previous decades, do you think schools should start sex-ed at a younger age? When is the right time to start talking to kids about their changing bodies, and what are the best ways to have that conversation? Who should educate kids about puberty — parents or schools or both?

Fall is here, which means colder weather and, for some teens, a reason to buy new clothes. How should teens balance affordability, style and ethics when it comes to buying clothing? Do you think it’s okay to buy inexpensive “fast fashion” clothing that was made in sweatshops? How can teens help promote fair labor practices?

A study published this month in The Journal of Neuroscience looks at free music programs aimed at at-risk kids, and finds that studying music improves performance in the human brain. Youth Radio’s Scott Lau went through a similar program, and is now a freshman at USC studying music business and the cello. Lau contributed his story about how playing the cello has changed him.